Orange Sugar Cookies with Orange Buttercream Icing

Chinese New Year 2024 - Year of the Dragon

I found an article written in the LA Times that was very interesting concerning the Year of the Dragon. Are we in for a lucky, powerful year? (reads the headlines) So, to make my cookies fit into this holiday, I took the lucky colors and the fruit, which is tangerine, but I chose orange (close enough).

Last year, I made crispy Chinese Almond Cookies that were full of almond flavor. So this year, it is all about the orange. The flavor of these cookies is exactly what I wanted: full of fresh orange and a great orange buttercream icing. I just needed to adapt the colors to match the colors for 2024.

Ingredients for Orange Sugar Cookie

Orange Sugar Cookies

• Butter unsalted 
• Sugar white
• Egg 
• Orange extract
• Orange Zest
• All-purpose flour
• Baking powder
• Kosher Salt
• Yellow coloring gel

Ingredients for the Orange Buttercream Icing

Orange Buttercream Icing

• Butter unsalted 
• Powdered sugar
• Orange extract
• Orange juice
• Green coloring gel

Making the Cookies

To start, as always, I do the prepping of the ingredients. Weigh or measure the sugar into a bowl and set it aside. Weigh or measure the flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl. I run a whisk through to blend the three ingredients.

Next, I zest and juice an orange that will be used in the cookie and the icing.

Before adding the sugar, I start by creaming the butter at a medium mixer speed. Once the sugar is added, mix for 3 minutes or more to form soft peaks.

Now, incorporate the orange extract, orange zest, yellow coloring gel, and egg. Continue on a medium mixer speed.

Finally, scrape down the sides. Turn the mixer onto a low speed and slowly add the flour mixture. It is going to look lumpy and a little dry. Don't over mix, you want to mix just until the flour is incorporated.

Dump the cookie dough onto a pastry mat. So to fully incorporate the flour into the butter knead the cookie dough. It will come together.

After you form a rectangular shape, divide the log in half and form round flattened disk shapes.

Wrap each disk with plastic wrap.

I lay the wrapped disks on a sheet pan. Refrigerate the cookie dough for 30 minutes.

You refrigerate to chill the butter that became warm when mixing the cookie dough. The second is to give the flour, sugar, and butter time to meld together.

Baking Sugar Cookies

I purchased the stencils online at Amazon. Designer Stencils Double Happiness, Luck, Prosperity Symbols Cake and Cookie Stencil Set, Beige/Semi-Transparent Whenever you are using a stencil before you start to do the cutouts of your cookie dough, make sure it is big enough for the stencil.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C or 180°C) and line 2 cookie sheet pans with parchment paper.

To ensure the cookie was big enough, I put the cookie cutter onto the stencil to make sure there was enough space around the words. These stencils are 3.25", so I needed a 4" round cookie cutter.

With a large cookie, the trick is getting it off the pastry mat. I used powdered sugar under and on the cookie dough to roll it out. I also used 3/16" bands on the ends of my rolling dowel to ensure an even rollout of the cookie dough. To help get the cookie off the mat, I used a butter knife to gently help lift it by working the knife down and lifting it with the other hand.

I laid six cookies on a prepared sheet pan and baked them at 350°F (175°C or 180°C) for 8-10 minutes. As always, you know your oven; adjust time as needed. Leave the cookies on the pan after taking them out of the oven; it is easier to move them after they have cooled on the sheet pan. Then, move to a cooling rack.

Making the Buttercream Icing

After the cookies have completely cooled, I start the icing. Since these are large cookies, you want them solid before handling them.

Cream the room temperature butter on a medium mixer speed. Stop and scrape down the sides.

Add the powdered sugar, orange juice, and the orange extract. Start the mixer on the lowest speed until mixed, then turn it up to medium-high speed for 3 minutes. Stop and add the green coloring gel and return to medium-high speed for 4 to 5 minutes.

As the buttercream is mixed you will notice a gradual change in color. It is pretty easy to tell with the green.

The icing is done when you can put a little between you fingers and it is a little stiff and creamy.

Line your cookie sheet pans with parchment paper. Spread a layer of the icing onto the cookie (about the same thickness as the cookie). Don't go totally to the edge.

Place the cookies with the icing side down onto the parchment paper and press lightly to flatten the icing, making it easier to stencil. Place the sheet pan into the fridge for 15 minutes.

To take the iced cookies off the pan, peel the cookie off the parchment paper. You will be surprised at how solid and flat the icing becomes. It is so much easier to stencil with a solid and flat surface.

Stenciling the Cookies

Since I am not a real decorator of cookies, I could stencil some decorations on cookies for the holidays and have some cool-looking cookies. I found some glitter on Amazon called MONÉGASQUE Edible Luster Dust Glitter Set and thought I would give them a try. The glitter looks great but unsure about the brushes I picked up. So, I will be looking for a different type of brush.

So I grabbed the gold luster dust, and the spoon made it handy to get the dust out of the jar.

You want to lay the stencil on top of the icing. With the stencil being semi-transparent, it is easy to see the green under the stencil to line it up. The tricky part is keeping the stencil flat without the icing coming up through the openings where you want to put the glitter. If the icing does come up through the stencil, this could mean that the icing is not hard enough.

If the icing is still soft, you may have to pop the cookies back into the fridge for another 5 to 10 minutes. I dabbed the glitter over the openings while holding the stencil as flat and still as possible. It took a little practice but was much easier than I thought.

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